Powder compacting press

ABSTRACT

A COMBINED HOPPER AND ROTATABLE POSITIONER ASSEMBLY FOR A POWDER COMPACTING PRESS ADAPTED TO BE PIVOTALLY POSITIONED ABOVE A COMPRESSION DIE PROVIDED WITH DIE CAVITIES, THE HOPPER BEING ROTATABLE AND PROVIDED WITH A BASE OVERLYING SAID DIE, THE BASE HAVING ALTERNATING APERTURES, GROOVES AND LAND SECTIONS IN EQUAL NUMBER CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF DIE CAVITIES AND ROTATIONAL DRIVE MEANS TO ROTATE THE HOPPER IN TIMED SEQUENCE TO ALTERNATELY POSITION THE APERTURES, GROOVES AND LAND SECTIONS OVER SAID DIE CAVITIES.

Jan. 23, 1913 E. SMITH POWDER COMPACTING PRESS I5 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed Dot. 31. 1968 .w VA

mvENTon JOSEPH ESMITH ATTORNEYS POWDER COMPACTING PRESS Original FiledOct. 31. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mil lllh.

FIGH FIG.|2 FIGJO ma bow /aa 32 5 lNvl-:Non JOSEPH E, SMITH @Mw/2f@ ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1973 J. E. SMITH Re. 27,562

POWDER COMPACTING PRESS Original Filed Oct. 31, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 nllllllllllll FIGG 40 w mvENToR 200 45 JOSEPH E. SMITH 50 f www, ffmf, .f7%@ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 27,562 POWDER COMPACTING PRESSJoseph E. Smith, Birmingham, Mich., assignor to Wolverine-Pentronix,Inc.

Original No. 3,561,054, dated Feb. 9, 1971, Ser. No. 772,291, AOct. 31,1968. Application for reissue June 14, 1971, Ser. No. 153,004

Int. Cl. B30b 11/02, 15/32 U.S. Cl. 425-78 26 Claims Matter enclosed inheavy brackets [1 appears in the original patent but forms no part ofthis reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates theadditions made by reissue.

ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A combined hopper and rotatable positionerassembly for a powder compacting press adapted to be pivotallypositioned above a compression die provided with die cavities, thehopper being rotatable and provided with a base overlying said die, thebase having alternating apertures, grooves and land sections in equalnumber corresponding to the number of die cavities and rotational drivemeans to rotate the hopper in timed sequence to alternately position theapertures, grooves and land sections over said die cavities.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention is in substancerelated to U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 450,27, lcd Apr. 23, 1965(now abandoned); Ser. No. 529,733 and 529,734, filed Feb. 24, 1966 (now`U.S. Pats. Nos. 3,328,840 and 3,344,- 213 respectively); Ser. No.529,735, led Feb. 24, 1966 (now abandoned); Ser. No. 529,842, filed Feb.24, 1966 (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,842); Ser. No. 544,284, led Apr. 21,1966 (now U.S. Patent No. 3,365,540) and Ser. No. 618,230, filed Feb.23, 1967 (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,142).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention in the present applicationrelates to a new and improved automatic powder compacting press ormachine. The press is for the purpose of manufacturing cores or beads offerrite or glass or any other powdered metal or comparable substance.The primary purpose of the machine is the manufacture of memory coreswhich are normally toroidal, pills, such as pharmaceutical pills, ballsfor ball point pens, porous bearings and bushings, and the like. Memorycores are of course widely used in computers and related apparatus. Asstated, memory cores and porous bearings and bushings are normallytoroidal, although pharmaceutical pills may be in the form of tablets,such as aspirin tablets, and balls for ball point pens are of coursespherical.

Ferrite cores, by way of an example, may be from approximately .005 to.015 inch in thickness and the accuracy of the dimensions must be heldto ym of a thousandth of an inch. Ball for ball point pens may be in thesame order of dimensions, and also require great accuracy inmanufacturing. Pharmaceutical pills do not, of course, have to havecomparaable accuracy. In the manufacture of the ferrite cores for use inmemory devices, the density of the cores must also be held accuratethereby making it necessary that the fill or the amount of powder ineach die cavity of a compacting press be maintained within very closelimits. The resulting density of all cores must be the same, that is, itmust be uniform and accordingly, the compressing of the powderedmaterial must be exact and repetitively constant. If these dimensionaland density factors are not held within close tolerances the readoutlevel from the cores in a memory stack Re. 27,562 Reissued Jan. 23, 1973'ice would not be substantially constant from core to core and the coreswould not then serve their purpose. To realize the dimensional accuracyreferred to in the foregoing, it is necessary that the press be capableof accurate adjustments of movements of certain parts within at leastmillionths of an inch. The powder is compressed by way of punches whichcontrol the fill of the die cavities and the thickness to which thecores are compresed. In a machine according to the present invention theadjustment of the movements of these parts is accurate to within 50 to100 millionths of an inch. One of the primary objects of the inventionis consequently to make possible this degree of accuracy of theadjustments in a powder compacting press whereby the dimensions anddensity of the manufactured article is controllable with a great degreeof accuracy.

A machine according to the present invention has many novelcharacteristics and advantages rendering it suitable for fulfilling manyobjectives in addition to the foregoing. An exemplary form of themachine of the invention which has been reduced to practice is capableof producing approximately eight hundred cores or pills per minute andits production rate can readily be increased to approximately sixteenhundred per minute. The machine referred to is fully automatic anddischarges the finished units into separate vials or bottles. In thepreferred exemplary form the machine is motor driven. The cores or pillsare formed in a multi-cavity die. The cavities are automatically andaccurately filled with powder; the powder is automatically pressed orcompacted; the finished articles are automatically ejected from the dieand are picked up, discharged and delivered into the vials or bottles.

In the preferred form of the machine, the punches move upwardly in thedie cavities for compacting the powder. A novel flipper or positionerassembly is provided Which is rotatably movable through a limited areover the die and carries a base having an equal number of apertures,anvils and groove fsection] sections which are alternately positionableover the die cavities. The positioner assembly also includes a powderhopper in the form of a tube which is constantly positioned over the diecavities for providing an overfill of powder in the cavities through thebase apertures, the excess powder being retained in the hopper when thepositioner is rotated or oscillated to another position, as will beexplained hereinafter. Additionally, the novel positioner carries an airejecting means for ejecting the finished article, i.e., cores, pills, orthe like along the groove sections and through tubes into the separatebottles or vials referred to above, or, if preferred, into a commonreceptacle.

The primary object of the invention, consequently, is to provide a novelconstruction and mode of operation for the positioner of a powdercompacting press for positioning the anvils, the hopper apertures andthe air eject grooves of the positioner over the die cavities.

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description with reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an upper plan view of apreferred embodiment of the invention, with parts broken away forclarity, to show the positioner oscillating mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the invention likewise having partsbroken away for clarity to show the press ram and ram adjustmentmechanism[;] as seen from line 2-2 of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is another side view of the present novel compacting press alsohaving parts broken away for clarity to show the ram actuatingmechanism[;] as seen from line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an alternate embodiment of the positioner oscillatingmechanism of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a separate partial view of the cam and lever assembly foractuating the positioner oscillating mechanism shown in FIG. 1 [z] asseen from line 5-5 of FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-section through thenovel compacting press embodying the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section through the cam and treadle mechanism in FIG.6 along line 7-7 hereof;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-section along the cam shaft of themechanism in FIG.7[;] as seen from line 8 8 of FIG. 7,'

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical cross-section through the tool capsuleand positioner assembly shown in the die cavity fill position;

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view of the positioner assembly shownin the die cavity fill position;

FIG. ll is a schematic [setcional] sectional View of the positionerassembly shown in the press position;

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of the positioner assembly shownin the eject position;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the hopper base plate and positioneroscillating mechanism{;] as seen from line I3-13 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration similar to FIG. l2 showing analternate ejecting tube construction;

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 13 illustrating an alternateconstruction of the hopper base plate;

FIG. 16 is a cross-section through a modified positioner assembly inaccordance with the modified hopper base plate shown in FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT lGeneral machinearrangement With particular reference to FIGS. 1 3 and 6-9 a powdercompacting press according to the present invention includes a base 20upon which is mounted the press itself 22. The press 22 comprises ahousing 24 which encloses most of the operating mechanism of the pressand which has a work surface 26. The work surface comprises a table 28(FIG. 9) [into] on which is mounted a positioner oscillating mechanism30 and below which is disposed a die and punch tool capsule 32 [disposedbelowll. Mounted to the front of the table is a combined powder materialhopper and positioner assembly 34, aligned with [an] and overlying thedie and punch tool capsule 32, and which is adapted to be rotatablyoriented into selective operating positions by the positioneroscillating mechanism 30 as will be described.

A cam shaft 36, driven by an electric motor or the like, is mounted forrotation in bushings 38 disposed within opposite walls 23 and 25 ofhousing 24, as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, and supports a number of controlcams 40, 42, 44 and 46 for rotation therewith. The cam 40, which isadjacent to the housing wall 23, acts on the positioner oscillatingmechanism 30 as will be explained and cam 46, which is adjacent to theother housing wall 25, acts on a clamp down assembly for the positionerassembly 34, as will be likewise explained hereinafter in detail. Thecams 42 and 44, which are positioned between the housing walls 23 and25, are adapted to drive the punch actuating rod 31 of the die and punchtool capsule 32 in a manner to be explained hereinafter in detail.

Construction and operation of the die and punch tool capsule The die andpunch tool capsule 32 as illustrated in detailed cross-section in FIG. 9may be of a structure as disclosed in the copending application Ser. No.544,285, tiled Apr. 2l, 1966 (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,940), as shown inFIG. 9, or it may be of any of the structures disclosed in copendingapplication Ser. No. 767,648, filed Oct. 15, l968[.] (now U.S. ParentNo. 3,561,056). The construction Qi the tool capsule is immaterial tothe present invention and forms no part thereof. In the form shown inFIG. 9 for illustrative purposes, the die and tool capsule 32 is seatedwithin an aperture 48 in the table 28 in which it is suitably secured bymeans such as screws, clamps or the like (not shown) and comprises agenerally cylindrical housing 50 on top of which is attached as byscrews 52, a die plate 54.

The die plate 54 has a flut upper surface preferably llush with the worksurface 26 when in an assembled position, and the tool housing 50 isprovided with a bore 56 disposed normal to the upper surface of the dieplate 54. The die plate 54 is provided with one or a plurality ofmutually parallel borcs 58 preferably disposed in a circular arrangementaround the axis of the housing bore 56 and having a regular peripheralspacing. Associated with each of the bores 58 is a die bushing 60preferably formed of a hard material such as a carbide and which isprcss-fltted or otherwise secured within the bore S8. Each of the diebushings 60 is inserted in the bore 58 such that its upper end is flushwith the upper surface of the die plate 54 and is provided with alongitudinal bore 62 which extends normally from the upper face of thedie plate 54.

An elongated cylindrical sleeve member 64 is slidably disposed withinthe bore 56 of the tool housing 50. The cylindrical sleeve member 64 hasformed on its outer surface a flattened surface 66 which is adapted toregster with a set screw 68 carried by housing St). Thus, it can be seenthat the cylindrical sleeve membn4 64 may be adjusted [up and down]longitudinally within the bore 56 of the tool housing 50 and then lockedin position.

Adjacent to the upper end of the cylindrical sleeve member 64 there isan annular slot 70 and a plurality of bores 72 extending longitudinallythrough the wall of the cylindrical sleeve member 64 from the annularslot 70 to terminate at the lower end with a threaded passage 74 whichaccommodates set screws 76 The bores 72 have an identical angular andradial disposition with respect to the axis of the sleeve member 64 asthe bores 58 in the die plate 54 have with the housing bore 56, therebeing one bore 72 associated with cach of the bores 58. It is to beunderstood that each of the set screws 76 is adapted to be adjustedupwardly and downwardly by an elongated tool (not shown) which may beinserted through the opening to the threaded passage 74 provided at thelower end of the sleeve member 64.

An elongated lod member 7S is provided for each of the bores 72 and isslidably disposed therein. The rods 78 have a length sufficient suchthat their upper ends will extend slightly into the annular slot 70 andextend downwardly through the bore 72, such that the lower end of therod 78 will normally abut the upper end of the set screw 76. Thus, therewill be in the case of an eight cavity die tool capsule eight similarlyshaped rod members disposed within bores 72.

A plurality of regularly spaced radial slots 80 are formed inwardly fromthe upper end of the cylindrical sleeve member 64 with one slot 80aligned with each of the bores 72. An upwardly extending elongated corerod 82 is associated with each of the radial slots 80 and has anenlarged lower end 4. The lower end 84 has a length which is slightlyless than the axial length of the annular slot 70 so that the end 84 maybe inserted radially into the slot with the core rod 82 registering inthe radial slot 80.

The slots 80 are adapted so that each of the core rods 82 may be axiallyaligned with the die bushing bores 62. The core rods 82 have a diameterto accommodate the bore of a toroidally shaped article and have a lengthsuffcient so that the upper ends thereof may be disposed Hush with theupper surface of the die plate 54.

The cylindrical sleeve member 64 is provided with an axial bore 86 inwhich is slidably disposed an elongated punch actuating rod 88. Thepunch actuating rod 88 has an enlarged upper end 9|) which is providedwith a plurality of radial slots 92 corresponding to the die bushingbores 62. Thus, it can be seen that each of the [bore] core rods 82extends upwardly through one of the radial slots 92 in the upper end ofthe punch actuating rod 88. An annular groove `94 is formed in theenlarged end 90 of the punch actuating rod and carries a plurality ofcylindrical members 96 each of which having an enlarged lower end 98which is seated in the groove 94 and locked therein by means of snaprings 9S. Each of the cylindrical members 96 is provided with an axiallyextended elongated punch 100 which extends upwardly therefrom toregister in a die bushing 60. The outer diameter of the punches 100accurately [tit] firs the inner diameter 62 of the die bushings 60 whilethe inner diameter of the punches 100 closely fits around the core rods82 which extend slidably through the punches for the punches to beguided thereon such that they are free for up and down movement.

The lower end of the punch actuating rod 88 is provided with a notchedportion 102 and extends into [this] the upper portion 104 of a ramrod112 to be secured therein by set screw 106 which engages the notch 102.

Again referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 6-8 as mentioned above, the punchactuating rod 88 in the assembled portion is attached to the upperportion 104 of a ramrod 112 which is supported for axial slidingmovement within a bushing 108 in a support 110 integral with or fastenedto the housing 24. As seen in the FIGS. 2 and 3, the ramrod 112 extendsdownwardly in a substantially vertical direction towards the base 20 ofthe press to be slidably supported therein at its lower end within abushing 114 in axial alignment with the upper support bushing 108. Theramrod 112 extends through an adjustable sleeve or spool member 116which is mounted longitudinally adjustable along the ramrod 112 by beingprovided with a thread 117 on its internal bore engaging a thread 119 onthe ramrod 112. An adjusting wheel 118 integral with the sleeve or spoolmember 116, part of which extends through an aperture 120 in the fronthousing wall, permits to adjust the relative longitudinal position ofthe ramrod 112 from the outside of the housing. Similarly, a loweradjusting wheel 122 is provided around the lower portion of the ramrod112 in threading engagement therewith, which likewise extends through anopening 123 in the front housing wall to be adjustable from outside thehousing for up and down movement along the ramrod 112 relative to thesleeve or spool member 116.

The upper adjusting sleeve or spool member 116 is provided with acentral radial recess 124 adapted to receive a yoke portion 126 at theend of a lever or treadle 128[,] which is pivotally secured to a shaft130 intermediate its ends within the housing 24. The other end of thelever 128 is bifurcated, as seen in FIG. 7, to provide Opposite arms 132and 134 which support therebetween a cam follower shaft 136 which isadapted to be engaged by the cam lobes of the intermediate cams 42 and44 upon rotation of the camshaft 36 to pivot the elever 128 around thepivot shaft 130 to [offset movement of] reciprocate the ramrod 112. Thearms 132 and 134 of the bifurcated end of the lever 128 are biasedupwardly by means of springs 138 and 140 supported on wear pins 139 and141 respectively in the bottom of the housing 24 so as to constantlytend to bias the lever upwardly around its pivot shaft 130 to keep thecam follower shaft 136 in contact with the rotatable cams 42 and 44. Thecam follower shaft 136 has a tapered portion 142 adapted to be engagedby the cam 44 [upon rotation of] [cam] which has a [respectivelyinclined] tapered mating circumferential cam surface 144. The remainingportion 146 of the cam follower shaft 136 is of straight cylindricalshape and adapted to be engaged by the other cam 42 upon rotation of thecam. Upon operation cam 42 is adapted to initiate the eject cycle of thepress and cam 44 is adapted to initiate the press cycle of the press.

In powder compacting presses of this kind it is desirable to regulatethe compacted height and thus the density of the article to be made. Porthis reason, the press cam 44 is [being made] axially slidable on thecam shaft 36 to be adjustable along the tapered portion 142 of the camfollower shaft 136 by which means the horizontal position of the lever128 can be angularly adjusted in minutes of degrees thereby raising orlowering the ramrod 112 and thus establishing the maximum amount thatthe punches will extend into the die cavities 62 during the press cycle.With specific reference to FIG. 8, manual adjustment of the press cam 44along the tapered portion 142 of the cam follower shaft 136 isaccomplished by a yoke 148 engaging the cam 44. Yoke 148 has a bodyportion 150 which is internally threaded to be axially movably supportedon a threaded portion 152 of a shaft 154 which is rotatably supportedwithin housing 24. The external end of the shaft 154 is provided with agear wheel 156 adapted to be in constant mesh with another gear Wheel158 rotatable on a stud 160 which is supported in the housing wall 25 ofthe housing 24 and which is provided with an adjusting wheel 162 outsideof the housing 24 so that upon manipulation of the adjusting wheel 162,the shaft 154 will be rotated causing the body portion 150 of the yoke148 to travel back or forth depending on the direction of rotation ofthe adjusting wheel 1612 along the threaded portion 152 of the shaft 154and thereby moving the cam 44 back or forth as desired along the taperedportion 142 of the cam follower shaft 136.

Construction and actuation of the novel positioner assembly The presentnovel combined powdered material hopper and positioner assembly 34 ontop of the press table 28 comprises a hopper 164 of substantiallytubular construction having a tlared entrance 166 at the top tofacilitate the introduction of powdered material into the hopper. Thehopper 164 is disposed in vertical position above the die and punch toolcapsule 32 and in axial alignment with the tool capsule housing 50. Thehopper 164 is supported at its lower end in a spherical bearing 168 forvertical self alignment in relation to the die plate 54. The sphericalbearing 168 is supported within the end of a clamp arm 170 of the clampdown assembly 35 which extends towards the front of the machine to bepivotally secured on a shaft 172 by means of a key 173 (FIGS. 6-9). Theshaft 172 is supported for rotation in bearings 175 in the upper portionof brackets 174 to both sides of the clamp arm 170 (FIG. 2) which areattached to the upper front of the housing 24. Attached to the outer endof the shaft 172 is a lever 176 extending angularly downwardly andrearwardly along the side of the housing 24 [which other] and whose endis provided with a cam follower roller 178 adapted to be in contact withthe cam surface of a cam 46 which may be spring loaded thereagainst (notshown), as is common practice. Thus, upon rotation of the cam shaft 36during the press cycle. the cam 46, in timed sequence, exerts a force onthe lever 176 by means of its lobe portion 47 (FIG. 3) to pivot thelever 176 and thus rotate the shaft 172 by which the clamp arm 170 willbe pressed downward upon the table 28 pressing the hopper 164 upon thedie plate S4 in order to complete the compactng operation as will beexplained in detail.

The lower or base portion 180 of the hopper 164 abuts upon the die plate54 and is provided with a circular flange 182 for abutment against theunderside of the arm 170 by which the hopper 164 is retained upon thedie plate 54. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the base 180 of the hopperwhich is circular in plan view is provided with a central upwardlyreceding cavity 184 which is in open communication with a conduit 186extending centrally upwardly through the tubular hopper 164 and out ofit to be connected to a source of pressurized air (not shown).

The base 180 is further provided with vertical apertures 188 radiallyspaced around the central cavity 184 and which correspond in number withthe number of die cavities on the die plate 54 and which communicatewith the interior of the hopper 164 around the air conduit 186'. Whenthe hopper is placed in the lill position as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10,the apertures 188 in the base 180 register with the die cavities 62 toallow the powdered material contained in the hopper to fill the diecavities by gravity force. Adjacent to each of the apertures 188 thebottom side of the base 180 is provided with solid land portions oranvils 190 equal in number to the apertures 188 and of a width suicientto completely cover the die cavities 62 when the hopper is placed in thepress" cycle, the hopper being pressed down upon the die plate 54 bymeans of the action of the cam 46 on the lever 176 as previouslydescribed and at a preselected magnitude of force to allow the powderedmaterial within the die cavities 62 to be compressed between the anvils190 and the upwardly advancing punches 100. The bottom side of the base180 is further provided with radially outwardly extending grooves 192between the apertures 188 and the land portions 190 which extend fromthe central aperture 184 to the outer edge of the base and which numberis the 'same as that of the apertures 188 or anvils 190. These grooves192 are provided for ejecting the finished articles from the machine inthe following manner: When the hopper 164 is [placed in] rotated to theeject position as shown in FIG. 12, the grooves 192 register with thedie cavities 62 and after the finished articles 194 have been pushed outof the cavities 62 by the complete advancement of the punches 100 bymeans of force exerted by the press cam 42 on the treadle 128 a blast ofair is expelled through the conduit 186 within the tubular hopper intothe central cavity 184 which causes the air to move the finishedarticles 194 through the grooves 192 out of the hopper base 180 and intoseparate tubes 196 provided around the hopper base on the work table 28in registering relationship with the grooves 192 when the hopper is inthe position illustrated in FIG. 12. The tubes 196 may empty intoseparate containers (not shown) to separately collect the finishedarticles from each die cavity. FIG. 14 illustrates an alternateembodiment of separately collecting the linished articles 194 whichprovides in this instance a shield or shroud 198 having [a] [radial] anannular -iiange 200 which extends around the base portion 180 of thehopper 164 to be suitably secured thereto. The work table 28, in thisinstance, is provided with apertures 204 spaced around the base 180which open into the space 201 between the shield liange 200 and theradial edge of the flange 182 of the base 180. The apertures 204 areconnected to conduits 206 extending underneath the work table 28 toconvey the finished articles into separate containers (not shown). Thus,during the eject cycle when air is forced through the conduit 186 thefinished articles are blown out of the base 180 into the space 201 andagainst the flange 200 where they are caused to fall through theapertures 204 into the discharge conduits 206.

Instead of separating the articles 134 they may be ejected through thegrooves 192 into a common receptacle (not shown) by brushing them offthe surface of the worktable 28 or any similar method.

With reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 there is illustrated an alternatehopper construction 164a in which the air conduit 186 has been omitted.1n this embodiment the finished article 194 is being ejected from therevised hopper base 180a by mechanical means. As illustrated, the[former] eject grooves [192 have been replaced by a] are in the form ofcam [groove] grooves 200 which [is] are each formed adjacent [the] ananvil [portions] portion 190a by a curved cam surface 202 which extendsfrom the portion of the base in which [the] each feed [apertures]aperture 188e [are] is located along a curved path outwardly to the edgeof the base where the cam surface joins the anvil portion 190a.

After the finished articles 194 have been ejected into the cam grooves200 as shown in FIG. 16, the return rotation of the hopper 164a to thepowder material feeding position causes the finished articles 194 to bemoved along 8 the curved cam surface 202 across the die plate 54 andfinally out of the hopper base a. The articles 194 then are [scoped]scooped olf the worktable 28 by any known suitable means for collectioninto a container.

The mechanical removal of the finished articles 194 from the hopper baseas illustrated in FIGS. l5 and 16 greatly facilitates the installationrequirements and operational cost for the press by the omission of theuid pressure arrangement used in the embodiments of FIGS. l0 through 14.

The positioner assembly 34, that is, the hopper 164, is rotatablyoscillated in a timed sequence to be positioned for the different workcycles by the following positioner oscillating mechanism 30. Withspecific reference to FIGS. l, 5 and 13, one section of the radialflange 182 of the hopper base 180 opposite of the clamp down assembly35, is provided with teeth 208 adapted to be in meshing engagement withthe teeth 210 of a semicircular oscillating rack 212 which is rearwardlypivoted on the worktable 28 on a shaft 214 which is rotatably supportedin a bearing 216. The teeth 208 may be provided on other portions of thehopper 164 as required, for instance, when necessary to clear theejection tubes 196 in FIG. 12 or shield 198 in FIG. 14. The oscillatingrack 212 is provided with transverse extensions or ears 218 and 220which each carry a roller 222 at their end rotatably supported on pins223.

The rollers 222 at the rack ears 218 and 220 are engaged by the forkedends 224 of a pair of oppositely disposed levers 226 and 228respectively. The left hand lever 226, as shown in FIG. 1, is pivotedbetween its ends. as shown at 230, relative to the worktable 28 and itsfree end is biased in one direction by means of a spring 232 which ishorizontally supported against an abutment 234 integral with the housing24. Thus, the force of the spring tends to rotate the lever 226 and thustends to rotate the oscillating rack 212 by its connection with the ear218. The opposite lever 228 is likewise pivoted at 236 between its endsand its free end is provided with a roller 238 supported on a pin 239and adapted to be in engaged rolling contact with another roller 240positioned transverse to the axis of the roller 238. With reference toFIG. 5, the roller 240 is rotatably supported on the end of a pivot link242 which is pivoted intermediate its ends at 244 relative to aninternal portion of the housing 24 and whose other end carries a camfollower roller 246 which is adapted to be in engaged rolling contactwith the contoured radial surface 248 of the cam 40 positioned on camshaft 36 for rotation therewith. The spring 232 at one end of the lever226 causes a biasing action on the lever 226 which tends to keep the camfollower roller 246 in constant engagement with the cam 40. Uponrotation of the cam 40, the lobe section of the cam by its contact withthe cam follower roller 246 swings the pivot link 242 against the end ofthe lever 228 which is thus pivoted to thereby rotate the oscillatingrack 212 in one direction causing angularly limited rotation of thehopper 164 to the required work position, due to the meshing of theteeth 210 on the oscillating rack and teeth 208 on the hopper flange182. Rotation of the oscillating rack in this direction causescompression of the spring 232 since the lever 226 is forced to pivot ina direction opposite from the pivoting movement of lever 228. Uponfurther rotation of the cam 40 the pivot link 242 will swing away fromthe lever 228 due to the lobed cam surface, in which instance the spring232 at the opposite end expands and swings the level 226 around, therebyrotating the oscillating rack 212 in the other direction and thusrotating the hopper 164 in the opposite direction [for] to another workposition.

Rotation of the oscillating rack 212 in this direction by the force ofthe spring 232 causes the lever 228l to be swung around in the otherdirection to bring the roller 238 again into contact with the roller 240on the pivoting link 242 to swing the link 242 around to maintain forcetransmitting contact between the cam follower roller 246 and the cam 40.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment for positioning the hopper164 which eliminates the rack arrangement of FIG. 1. The hopper flange182a, in this instance, is equipped with an extension or ear 250 whichcarries a roller 252 rotatable on a pin 253 and which is adapted to beengaged by an oscillating member 256 which replaces the oscillating rack212 of FIG. l. The oscillating member 256 is likewise provided with ears218a and 2209. having rollers 222a mounted on pins 223a which areengaged by the forked ends 224 of the levers 226 or 228 respectively.The remaining portion of the mechanism is the same as that described inconnection with FIG. l. It can be seen that upon rotation of the cam 40the oscillating member 256 in FIG. 4 will be angularly rotated in eitherdirection as indicated by the arrow in the manner described inconnection with FIG. 1 and thus rotatively positions the hopper 164 dueto its forked end connection with the roller 252 on the hopper flange182a.

As mentioned in the preamble of the specification, to obtain precisionarticles, the different work cycles of the machine must be accuratelyadjusted prior to operation of the machine. Thus, the initial fillposition of the punches and the extent of the punches during thepressing stroke and eject stroke can be accurately adjusted to anydesired degree by means of the adjusting wheels 118 and 122 which [sets]ser the limits for the up and down movement of the ram and by theadjusting wheel 162 which moves the press cam 44 along the tapered camfollower shaft 142 to thus establish the initial position of the ramlever 128 for a desired thickness of the article.

Operation of the press After the initial adjustments have been made, asdescribed above, the press motor (not shown) is started to rotate thecam shaft 36 and the cam 4I) by its rotation acts as explained above toposition the hopper 164 in the fill position illustrated in FIGS. 9 and10 allowing powdered material to enter the die cavities 62 through theapertures 188 in the hopper base 180i. Thereafter, again by rotation ofthe cam 40, the hopper 164 is further rotated to the press positionshown in FIG. 1l to bring the anvil portions 190 over the filled diecavities 62. At that time the lobes of the clamping cam 46 act on thelever 176 to clamp the hopper 146 down upon the die plate 54.Thereafter, the lobes of the press cam 44 depress the ram lever 128 byforce on the cam follower shaft 136 to move the punches 100 upwards inthe die cavities to- Wards the anvil portions 190 to then compress thepowdered material in the die cavities. Hereafter, by further rotation ofthe cam 40 the hopper 164 is rotated to the eject position shown in FIG.12 or 14 and downward pressure on the hopper is relieved by the furtherrotation of the cam 46, releasing the lever 176. At this time therotation of the eject cam 42 causes the cam lobe to further depress theram lever 128 by its force on the cam follower shaft 136 to completelyadvance the punches 100 through the die cavities 62 to eject thefinished compressed articles 194 from the cavities into the grooves 192in the hopper base from where the articles will be expelled by a blastof air through conduit 186 which is operated by a timed valve mechanism(not shown) to force the articles into the discharge tubes 196 as inFIG. 12 or tubes 206 as in FIG. 14. The hopper 164 is then reverselyrotated to its initial fill position and the punches 100 likewise recedein the die cavities 62 to assume their initial position as in FIG.whereafter the foregoing cycle is repeated.

CONCLUSION Thus, the present invention provides an improved combinedpowder material hopper for a compacfing press and multiple stationpositioning means eliminating the need for a separate hopper and stationpositioner as in the prior art presses.

The base plate of the hopper, which could be made to be detachable fromthe hopper to facilitate a changeover 10 from one multiple cavity dieset to another, is of a unique construction to unilaterally fulfill thediverse work cycle requirements such as filling the cavities,compression and [rejection] ejection of the finished articles by simplyrotating the hopper in the desired direction.

More sophisticated variations of the present novel powder compactingpress mechanism will carry punches in the press section which willenable the compacting of balls and other curved or spherical partsinstead of the fiat, cylindrical, tablet-like parts herein shown forillustration.

The present invention may be embodied in other forms without departingfrom the spirit and essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, thepresent embodiments are to be considered as illustrative only and notrestrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appendedclaims rather than by the foregoing description.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for making articles compacted from powder comprisinga die having at least one cavity therein, means for filling the diecavity with a powder to be compacted, punch means disposed below saiddie cavity and longitudinally movable therein, actuating means formoving said punch means to a first position causing filling of saidcavity, anvil means movable over said die cavity and adapted to closesaid cavity, actuating means for moving said punch means to a secondposition for compacting the powder to a nished article against saidanvil means, means replacing said anvil means over said cavity byejecting means, and actuating means for moving said punch means to athird position ejecting said finished article from said cavity, theimprovement comprising a cylindrical hollow member disposed above saiddie and angularly positionable around a vertical axis, said hollowmember having an integral annular base engaging said die, the interiorof said hollow member being adapted to contain said powder, alongitudinal aperture in said annular base in communication with theinterior of said hollow member for filling said die cavity with saidpowder in a first angular position of said hollow member, a fiat portionin said annular base defining said anvil means when disposed over saiddie cavity in a second angular position of said hollow member, and meansin said annular base disposed over said die cavity for ejecting saidfinished article in a third angular position of said hollow member tothe exterior of said hollow member.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said means for ejecting saidfinished articles comprises an outwardly open radial [grooves] groove[each of which is defined by a curved cam] [surface and an oppositestraight surface] 3. The improvement of claim [1] 2 wherein said [meansfor] [ejecting said finished articles comprise] radial [grooves] grooveis defined by straight surfaces.

[4.] 5. The improvement of claim [3] 2 further comprising means fordelivering a blast of uid through said radial groove for ejecting saidfinished article from said radial groove.

[5.] 6. The improvement of claim [1] 2 further comprising an annularshroud member disposed around the annular base of said cylindricalhollow member for collecting the finished articles ejected from saidgroove.

[6.] 7. The improvement of claim .[5] 6 wherein said die has a pluralityof die cavities and the annular base of said cylindrical hollow memberhas a groove for each die cavity and said annular shroud has a pluralityof discharge passageways each registering with each groove [of saidshroud] for ejecting each of said finish articles through a separatepath.

[7.] 8. The improvement of claim 1 further comprising means firmlyholding the annular base of said hollow member in engagement with saiddie while said hollow member is at said second angular position.

[8.] 9. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said hollow member has atoothed sector portion on the periphery thereof engaged with a toothedsector member and comprising means to rotate said toothed sector memberfor angularly positioning said hollow member.

[9.] I0. 'I'he improvement of claim 1 wherein said hollow member has aprojecting arm extension provided with a roller[,] and comprising aforked arm member in engagement with said roller and means to rotatesaid forked arm member for angularly positioning said hollow member.

[10.] 1I. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said hollow member has acentral wall portion disposed near the bottom thereof for separatingsaid hollow member into an outer chamber containing said powder andcommunicating with said longitudinal aperture, said inner chambercommunicating with said radial groove and means for intermittentlyplacing said inner chamber in communication with a source of compressedair when said hollow member occupies said third angular position.

[11.] 12. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the means for actuatingsaid punch means comprises a reciprocable punch actuating rod having anend supporting said punch means and another end attached to a ramprovided with a sleeve member, and comprising a treadle lever having ayoke on one end for engagement with said sleeve member, a cam followeron the other end of said treadle lever, said cam follower having acylindrical straight portion and a tapered portion, a cam shaft having aplurality of cams thereon and means for driving Said cam shaft, a pressCam on said cam shaft having a lobe adapted to engage the taperedportion of said cam follower for reciprocating said actuating rod tosaid second position for compacting the powder, an eject cam on said camshaft having a lobe adapted to engage the cylindrical portion of saidcam follower for reciprocating said actuating rod to said third positionfor ejecting said finished article from said cavity, and biasing meansurging said punch actuating rod to said first position for filling saidcavity when the lobes of said press and eject cams are not engaged withsaid cam follower.

[12.] 13. The improvement of claim [11] I2 wherein said sleeve member islongitudinally adjustable relatively to said punch actuating rod.

[13.] I4. The improvement of claim [11] 12 further comprising adjustableabutment means limiting the amount of travel of said punch actuating rodto said first position.

[14.] 15. The improvement of claim [1l] I2 further comprising a yokemember having a bifurcated end laterally engaging said press cam, andmeans manually adjusting the longitudinal position of said press camalong said cam shaft by moving said yoke parallel to said cam shaft.

[15.] 16. In an apparatus for making articles compacted from powdercomprising a die having at least one cavity therein, means for fillingthe die cavity with a powder to be compacted, punch means disposed belowsaid die cavity and longitudinally movable therein, actuating means formoving said punch means to a first position causing filling of saidcavity, anvil means movable over said die cavity and adapted to closesaid cavity, actuating means for moving said punch means to a secondposition for compacting the powder to a finished article against saidanvil means, means replacing said anvil means over said cavity byejecting means, and actuating means for moving said punch means to athird position ejecting said finished article from said cavity, theimprovement comprising a cylindrical hollow member disposed above saiddie and angularly postionable around a vertical axis, said hollow memberhaving an integral annular base engaging said die, a central walldisposed in said hollow member near said base and defining in theinterior of said hollow member an outer chamber adapted to contain saidpowder and an inner chamber, a source of cornpressed air, a longitudinalaperture in said annular base in communication with said outer chamberfor filling said die cavity with said powder in a first angular positionof said hollow member, a fiat portion on said annular base defining saidanvil means when disposed over said die cavity in a second angularposition of said hollow mem.- ber, a radial groove in said annular basedisposed over said die cavity in a third angular position of said hollowmember, said radial groove being in communication with said innerchamber, and means for placing said inner chamber in communication withsaid source of compressed air for ejecting said finished article fromsaid groove to the exterior of said hollow member.

[16.] 17. The improvement of claim [l5] 16 further comprising an annularshroud member disposed around the annular base of said cylindricalhollow member for collecting the finished articles ejected from saidgroove.

[17.] 18. The improvement of claim [16] 17 wherein said die has aplurality of die cavities and the annular base of said cylindricalhollow member has a groove for each die cavity and said annular shroudhas a plurality of discharge passageways each registering with each[groove of said shroud] of said grooves for ejecting each of saidfinished articles through a separate path.

[18.] 19. The improvement of claim [l5] I6 further comprising meansfirmly holding the annular base of said hollow member in engagement withsaid die while said hollow member is at said second angular position.

[19.] 20. The improvement of claim [18] 19 wherein said last mentionedmeans comprises a horizontal shaft supported for limited rotation alonga side of said apparatus proximate said die, a horizontally projectingarm having an end secured to said shaft and another end supporting saidhollow member, a lever having an end secured to said shaft and anotherend engaging the periphery of a cam, and lobe means in said cam forcausing said lever to urge said shaft in a direction that causes saidhorizontally projecting arm to apply pressure to the annular base ofsaid hollow member to hold said hollow member in firm engagement withsaid die while said hollow member is in said second angular position.

[20.] 21. The improvement of claim [15] I6 wherein said hollow memberhas a toothed sector portion on the periphery thereof engaged with atoothed sector member and comprising means to rotate said toothed sectormember for angularly positioning said hollow member.

[21.] 22. The improvement of claim [15] 16 wherein said hollow memberhas a projecting arm extension provided with a roller, a forked armmember in engagement with said roller and means to rotate said forkedarm member for angularly positioning said hollow member.

[22. The improvement of claim 15 fwherein said hollow member has acentral wall portion disposed near the bottom thereof for separatingsaid hollow member into an outer chamber and an inner chamber, saidouter chamber containing said powder and communicating with saidlongitudinal aperture, said inner chamber communieating with said radialgroove and means for intermittently placing said inner chamber incommunication with a source of compressed air when said hollow memberoccupies said third angular position] 23. The improvement of claim [l5]16 wherein the means for actuating said punch means comprises areciprocable punch actuating rod having an end supporting said punchmeans and another end attached to a ram provided with a sleeve member, atreadle lever having a yoke for engagement with said sleeve member, acam follower on the other end of said treadle lever, said cam followerhaving a cylindrical straight portion and a tapered portion, a cam shafthaving a plurality of cams thereon and means for driving said cam shaft,a press cam on said cam shaft having a lobe adapted to engage thetapered portion of said cam follower for reciprocating said punchactuating rod to said second position for compacting the powder, aneject cam on said cam shaft having a lobe adapted to engage thecylindrical portion of said cam follower for reciprocating said punchactuating rod to said third position for ejecting said finished articlefrom said cavity, and biasing means urging said punch actuating rod tosaid first position for filling said cavity when the 13 lobes of saidpress and eject cams are not engaged with said cam follower.

24. The improvement of claim [15] 23 wherein said sleeve member islongitudinally adjustable relatively to said punch actuating rod.

25. The improvement of claim [15] 23 further cornprising adjustableabutment means limiting the amount of travel of said punch actuating rodto said first position.

26. The improvement of claim [15] 23 further comprising a yoke memberhaving a bifurcated end laterally engaging said press cam, and meansmanually adjusting the longitudinal position of said press cam alongsaid cam shaft by moving said yoke parallel to said cam shaft.

27. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said radial groove is defined bya curved cam surface and an apposite straight surface.

References Cited The following references, cited by the Examiner, are ofrecord in the patented file of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,128,499 4/ 1964 Smolenski 425-225 3,328,8407/1967 Vinson 425-351 3,382,540 S/1968 Van De Maden et al. 425-4143,414,940 12/1968 Vinson 425-195 3,469,283 9/1969 Vinson 425-782,362,048 1l/l944 Cherry et al.

J. HOWARD FLINT, JR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

UNi im its PATENT @Witt Qtiiiiifi" 0i? Reissue Reissued Patent No.27,562 January 23. l973 Inventing) JOSEPH E SMITH It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent anzi the; said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

THE SPECIFICATON Column l, line 31, change "450, 27" to 450,427

line 59, before "for" change "Ball" to Balls line 62, correct thespelling of "comparable" Column 3, at the end of line 5, insert FIG. l;

Column 4, line 6l, change 4" to 84 Column 5, line 56,` correct thespelling of "lever" Column 6, line 34, after "top" chnange "to" to[Of}'t 0 l line 45, after shaft" change II172" to line 46, after"brackets" change "174" to [172] lli Column 8, line 16, after "35"delete Signed and sealed this 29th day of May 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.PLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

